Research Briefing: New brick-and-mortar shops open in Paris for the Summer Olympics

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As millions of sports fans and tourists pour into the “City of Love” for the Summer Olympics, Paris storefronts are evolving. New entrants like Hoka and Birkenstock opened their first stores in popular Paris districts a few months ago. Brands that already had a presence in Paris are opening flagship stores in popular tourist areas. And new physical retail formats are being tested with pop-up and experiential shops. 

Phone case brand Casetify is opening its first physical retail location in Paris at the shops at Carrousel du Louvre, close to the entrance of the iconic Louvre museum. Casetify deliberately chose a high art location within the city to deepen the brand’s association with art and design. David Siu, who leads global retail strategy at Casetify, explained to Forbes why being close to the Louvre was important to the brand. “The company prides itself on empowering self-expression through customizable phone cases and we recognize the inherent synergy between those values and the cultural significance of the Louvre, one of the world’s most renowned art museums,” he said. 

With its new retail location, Casetify is hoping to engage a larger international audience. The company has launched an exclusive line for the Louvre store called Monochrome Masterpieces that features iconic Louvre art reimagined in monochrome colors. This store marks the first store opening for Casetify in Paris. A second Paris store is set to open by the fourth quarter of this year.

Brands like Levi’s and Salomon also added new flagship stores on Paris’ historic Champs-Élyées avenue ahead of the Olympics. Both brands have operated retail stores in Paris for years, but the Summer Games offers an opportunity for added exposure. “Every brand would die to have a store on the Champs-Élysées,” Lucia Marcuzzo, managing director in Europe for Levi’s, told Glossy’s sibling publication Modern Retail. “Not only is this our pinnacle expression [of the brand] and the latest flagship that we have opened, but we are also activating it for this special time in Paris.” 

Scott Mellin, global chief brand officer for Salomon, told Modern Retail the Champs-Élysées store is intended to boost Salomon’s brand awareness on the international level. “It’s a place for us to introduce our current innovations in product technology, and combining that with an international event like the Olympics was super important,” Mellin said. “But from a brand exposure point of view, Paris is such an international destination, and whether it’s the Olympics like it is today, or rewind six weeks ago to June, the composition of the consumer on the Champs-Élysées is so global, it’s actually like a big ad for us for global brand awareness.”

Other brands are taking a shorter-term approach to leasing in Paris during the Olympics with temporary pop-up stores. Aside from serving as an official Olympic partner and sponsor, Samsung is promoting its latest Galaxy product with launches in Paris. Samsung opened a pop-up experience this week called the “Olympic Rendezvous @ Samsung” at Square Marigny — part of the Jardins des Champs-Élysées. Samsung collaborated with award-winning architect Jean Nouvel to design a range of immersive experiences from a “visual journey through Samsung’s Olympic heritage” to hands-on demonstrations of the latest Samsung Galaxy technology.  

Audio equipment brand JBL opened a pop-up store in the Sentier district of Paris to showcase new products and host live events with special guests like MMA fighter Ciryle Gane, content creator Domingo, DJ duo Trinix, and professional e-sports players from Team Vitality. The pop-up is split into four activations: a playground celebrating the Olympic Games; a café serving refreshments; a futuristic e-sports space designed for guests to play against Team Vitality professionals; and a shop to discover and buy new products. 

Chinese e-commerce platform Tmall has set up a pop-up store on the Champs-Élysées to showcase the Olympic partner brands and products available through its e-commerce site, including Procter & Gamble Co., Samsung Electronics, Mengniu Dairy and The Coca-Cola Co. Aside from showcasing its partners, the pop-up also brings a bit of Chinese culture to Paris. Visitors can participate in Chinese handcrafts, culinary tastings and Tmall’s DIY bracelet-making workshop, which lets participants create their own Olympic-themed bracelets. 

Paris pop-up locations have also expanded outside of the historic city center. Diptyque launched a pop-up at the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, featuring the brand’s signature oval shapes and green colors. Diptyque’s limited-edition summer collection designed by French artist Alexandre Benjamin Navet is also on display. To commemorate their visit, visitors can take pictures in a Diptyque photo booth.